Roasted sweet potato and chive biscuits

A delicious savoury treat!

These versatile beauties can be a delicious accompaniment for soups and salads but they’re also excellent for adorable little sandwiches. I love splitting and filling them with cream cheese and smoked salmon or brie and pear. I recommend roasting the potatoes so you get that delicious caramelized flavour from the sugar in the spuds; if you choose to use boiled or steamed, use a little bit less milk to begin with as you mix the biscuits, then add more as needed to get a shaggy dough. When I pat out biscuits out prior to cutting and baking, I like to do so on a piece of parchment paper so the dough does not stick to the counter (and cleanup is much faster as well). These biscuits can also be made appetizer-size by cutting the dough into 1 inch (2.5 cm) sized pieces; reduce baking time to approximately 8 minutes. If you like these ones, you might enjoy my dill pickle, cheddar and chive biscuits as well.

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) olive oil
• 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) powdered ginger
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) salt
• 2 teaspoons (10 g) white sugar
• 1/3 cup (75 g) very cold butter
• 1 cup (325 g) of the roasted, mashed sweet potato, cold
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup (175 mL) milk (or more; see method)
• 1/4 cup (15 g) minced chives or green onion tops
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) heavy cream

Method

• Several hours (or a couple of days) before making the biscuits, roast the sweet potatoes. Peel and cut into 1 inch pieces. Drizzle with the olive oil then transfer to the basket of an air fryer and roast at 400F for about 15 minutes, until tender. Alternatively, place on a parchment-lined baking tray and roast in a preheated 400F oven for 15 – 20 minutes. Transfer cooked potato to a bowl; mash then cover and refrigerate till cold.
• When ready to make biscuits, preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, salt and sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Grate the cold butter into the dry ingredients then toss with two forks to coat the shards of butter with the flour mixture.
• Measure out 1 cup of the roasted, mashed sweet potato; reserve any remaining for another purpose – I recommend adding to scrambled eggs as the combination is really delicious!
• In a bowl, combine the sweet potato, beaten egg, milk and chives then add to the flour and butter mixture and stir just until no dry spots remain. Depending on the moisture in your potatoes, you may need to add another tablespoon or two of milk and gently work it into the dough so you can gather it into a ball. The dough should be shaggy but not too dry nor too sticky.
• Pat or roll dough out to a square, one inch (2.5 cm) thick. If it’s warm in your kitchen, transfer the dough to the freezer and chill for 10 minutes to make the dough easier to cut. With a sharp knife cut into 16 evenly-sized pieces (about 2 x 2 inches or 5 x 5 cm) and transfer the biscuits to the prepared baking sheet.
• Brush the tops of the biscuits with the cream then place the tray in the preheated oven. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes, until golden brown on the outside and cooked through (internal temperature should be 205 – 210F).
• Let cool slightly on a rack before serving.

Makes 16 biscuits.